News Briefs

4/27/2012, Iyar 5, 5772

Begin: Uprooting Ulpana Neighborhood Could be Costly

Minister without portfolio Benny Begin said, Friday, that the Jerusalem District Court will deal with, in the upcoming weeks, a petition by residents of the Ulpana neighborhod in the Binyamin-region city of Beit El, who claim that they purchased their homes there according to law. Interviewed by Kol Yisrael government radio, the Likud lawmaker said, "If it turns outthat the landbelongs to them, the costofdemolitionmistakewould betoo highand shouldbe avoided."

The Supreme Court has ruled that the neighborhood should be uprooted, based on claims of Arab ownership of the land and faulty information submitted by the state. State attorneys are scheduled to submit a request by the government to the court on Friday, that the eviction of the neighborhood's residents be deferred 90 days.